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Monday, 30 January 2017

We are back in business! Scribe (Middlewich Literary Festival) will run from 23rd - 25th March 2017 and it's gonna be wild! #ScribeFest
celebrates all aspects of writing, illustrating and art. There are even top secret
plans for an interactive genre mix crime scene adventure...

Finer
details are still being worked out, but we will have events running in
different venues around Middlewich, including a Top-Secret Crime Scene Investigation, a children's story writing
and illustrating workshop, and visiting speakers and performers from the
literary and arts industry.

Thursday, 26 January 2017

We have only
one week left until my first book signing event of
2017, and I am rather excited now! I haven’t been to Telford for several
years, so that will make a nice change to my weekend routine. I look forward to
seeing all my author friends and colleagues at the event, and of course,
meeting new readers. Come and see me! I am eager to see you.

After
considering my options with regards to book swag, and the fact that my business
finances are rather slim after a few advertising experiments, I decided to get
creative with my offerings. Before I became a published author, I spent a lot
of time making greetings cards and bead jewellery. It was my method of
relaxation after a long day at work in a demanding job. This was before I had children,
of course, when the evenings belonged to me. I would stamp and colour and
embellish to my heart’s content.

The arrival
of my babies interfered somewhat with my hobby. Now, whenever I step near my
craft cupboard, I hear cries of, “I want to do painting, Mummy!” and “I want to
do crafts with you!” That is lovely, of course, but with young children comes a
lot of mess, and I cannot simply sit and craft in peace. So, I started doing it
in the evenings again. I set aside my marketing and computer work, and
revisited my old hobby. And I have created some beautiful book themed greetings
cards and bookmarks that I will bring to the book signing event. What do you
think?

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Monday, 23 January 2017

The world of
publishing is certainly diverse these days. And there is so much more to being
an author than simply writing your masterpiece and sending it out to the world.
For starters, we need to decide whether to throw ourselves at the mercy of the publishing
gatekeepers, only to be rejected time and time again, or whether to go it
alone.

We know that
being an independent (Indie) author can prove quite lucrative if it is done
properly. I have learned during the past couple of years that all of those “overnight
success stories” we hear about in the media are not necessarily accurate. The authors
behind those successes have often spent years, anything up to a decade or
longer, writing, publishing, networking and marketing before making their
breakthrough.

I am at the
point now where the idea of being an actual “proper” author is sinking in. I think
we need to feel the lifestyle in order to project it. Up to now it has pretty
much been a hobby that kept me entertained during my long days stuck at home
nursing babies and preschoolers. Now my children are getting older, I am finding
a bit more time to myself, and I must treat it like a job. Now I am developing
my author brand. Exciting!

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this article?Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get
you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will
bite!)

Thursday, 19 January 2017

I have
attended a few book signing events during recent years, and have noticed a
growing trend for something called “book
swag.” For those of you not in the know, book swag is basically free
stuff that you get from authors keen to spread the word about their books. It could
include posters, promotional flyers, keyrings, pens and even more specific
items like lip balms, all emblazoned with an author logo or book cover.

Now, I do
not yet have any official book swag. Indeed, the signing events I previously
attended did not specifically call for such a thing. My eyes were opened when I
attended the Sandbach
Author Signing Event back in November 2016. At this event I was
surrounded by professional indie authors, most of whom proudly displayed (and
distributed) a variety of colourful, promotional free gifts to their visitors. All
I had to offer was a few business cards and a couple of flyers. Boring!

In February I
will attend the West
Midlands Valentines Book Signing and Ball. I don’t yet have any
official book swag, but I plan to procure something of interest, if only to
keep up with my fellow authors and their established marketing practice. It is
all a huge learning curve for me as I step into another new world in the hopes
of finding my readers. Perhaps I can tempt them out with a fruity Redcliffe lip
balm, or a Blackpool souvenir with a vampire twist… Any suggestions?

Did you enjoy
this article?Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get
you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will
bite!)

Tuesday, 17 January 2017

February 4th 2017 TELFORD

It’s a New Year for new experiences, so why not make The West Midlands Valentine’s Book Signing & 1940’s Ball one of them!
This February the 4th is set to be a day filled with books, romance, laughter, and live 1940’s style music all thanks to The West Midlands Valentine's Book Signing & 1940’s Ball. With over 25 confirmed authors covering genres such as romance, chick-lit, erotica, young adult, horror, and children’s fiction, there is sure to be something here for you or your loved one just in time for Valentine’s Day. Or at least something to occupy the kids with.

When the door close to the signing at 16:30 we will be reopening them at 19:30 for our 1940’s swing ball, where The Vintage Vocalistwill take to the stage and take us back in time with classics from The Andrew Sisters, Vera Lynn, Anne Shelton, and many more. (1940’s dress is very much encouraged but not essential).
So, why not come and mingle with the authors and get those books signed before joining them for a swing around the dancefloor?

ALL PROCEEDS MADE ARE BEING DONATED TO HELP FOR HEROES.
*Tickets to the signing will be available on the door
* Children under 16 years of age enter the signing for FREE, but must be accompanied by a paying adult at all times.
* Tickets to the ball will NOT be available on the day and need to be pre-ordered before January 27th – All attendees to the ball must be over the age of 18 years.
Please visit our website for more information – www.westmidsvalentinesbooksigningball.wordpress.com

Thursday, 12 January 2017

It dawned on
me earlier this week that I have the complete opposite of the famed “blank page”
syndrome. You know the old scenario: writer wants to create a wonderful novel,
writer sits before computer and stares blankly at the screen, unable to form
the words that will convey the amazing story they hold in their mind. Eventually,
writer succumbs to the belief in writers’ block, slumps back in their chair,
and wallows in self-pity for a while.

I have about
five novels currently in various stages of progression. The main one is book 5
in my Redcliffe
novels series, Heart of the
Vampire. This continues the adventures experienced when Cornish bookshop
owner Jessica Stone explores her witch heritage and becomes embroiled with the local
werewolf pack, receiving mixed responses from her vampire boyfriend. The series
will end after book 6, as yet untitled, because I feel that it has run its
course. My muse may decide otherwise, however!

Moving away
from the Redcliffe novels, I have first drafts of a couple of novels set in and
around Cheshire and Manchester that feature female vampire hunters and their
adventures in a tough job. One is a retired vampire hunter who lives a new life
with a husband and young children. She concealed her past from him, but it all unravels
when her former target, a vampire that managed to seduce her and almost kill
her, returns to the area and must be exterminated. It is a quirky novel, I think,
and I really want to have it published soon.

Another
novel features a female vampire hunter that lives on a narrowboat, and her
story takes place in and around my home town in Cheshire. This story was
requested (or should I say, demanded) by my local fans, and they have been
waiting for around three years now. I really should dig out the manuscript,
tidy it up and get it published. That story caused a bit of turmoil for me when
it took a strange turn and introduced past lives, angels and demons. Yes, my
Muse is a confusing creature, indeed. I will tackle my YA zombie romance at a
later date!

Did you enjoy
this article?Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get
you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will
bite!)

Monday, 9 January 2017

One of the
key factors in my writing process is the definition
of accents. Having grown up reading books by Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Judy
Blume and L.J. Smith, I have been largely exposed to characters that speak in
old fashioned Queen’s English accents, or a sort of generalised white America
accent that I can’t quite define because I don’t know enough about the country
and its various regions.

Now, I am
very definitely not from a Queen’s English background, so I didn’t really
connect with the characters in the books I read. They were distant, posh people
who I could never emulate. I did feel a connection with Roald Dahl’s Matilda, but I am
still not sure what kind of regional accent she might have spoken in. I get the
feeling it was somewhere in the South of England, but I can’t be sure.

My
characters are mostly Northern, like me. I grew up in the Staffordshire
Moorlands, close to Stoke-on-Trent, and so I have a sort of hybrid “Stokie”
accent when I speak. It grows more broad when I return home to visit, which I find
quite amusing. My husband grew up in both Wigan (Northern England) and
Staffordshire, because his family moved to my home town when he was ten. His
accent grew into a hybrid Lancashire-Stoke, but then returned to its Northern
roots when he went to university in Manchester and took up full time work in
the region.

I want my
characters to have accents. I don’t want them to be traditionally English, or
cockney or anything that to my mind is all too common and far removed from my
experiences. My heroine in the Redcliffe novels series, Jessica Stone,
is from Manchester, but she now lives in Cornwall where the adventures take
place. Her best friend, Liz, is also Mancunian, living in Cornwall, and she
marries a local university lecturer who has a Cornish accent. Jessica’s love
interests, the identical twins Jack and Danny Mason, have their roots in
Dublin, but since they are over one hundred years old and have lived in many
places, their accents seem to come and go, largely depending upon their
emotional state.

How
important is it for you to read stories where the characters have a definitive
accent? Does it help you to relate more to the characters and the story, or do
you prefer to learn about other cultures and other lives? I find the whole
subject fascinating!

Did you enjoy
this article?Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get
you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will
bite!)

Thursday, 5 January 2017

Here is a
loaded question, and I would be very interested to receive some responses in
the comments below. I am currently reading On Writing by Stephen King, and I have reached the section of the book where he
tells us that if we are serious about writing, we actually have to do it. We cannot
keep putting it off and blaming our life circumstances, our lack of free time,
and all the other millions of excuses we come up with.

Now, I totally
agree with that. But one sentence in King’s book struck a chord. He wrote that
he was fortunate to have a “self-sufficient wife” and she allowed him to hide
away and write whenever he needed to. They have children, and he wrote his
novels and short stories since before they were born and throughout their
lives. Did his wife shoulder the parental responsibility, and do all the
boring, everyday essential tasks of caring for the children before he found
fame and fortune?

I would say
that I have a self-sufficient husband. In fact, he is so self-sufficient that I
am often left at home with the children, and I do 99% of the household chores,
nurturing, caring, doctors’ appointments, etc. My husband simply works, in a
demanding job that takes him away from the family home for anything up to
sixteen hours every day, five days a week. He then spends the weekends ‘catching
up’ on his personal affairs, and sleeping because he so exhausted from working
all week. But he provides the income, and I must accept that.

In order to
follow Stephen King’s advice, I need to change that model of behaviour. My husband
refuses to make his work hours more flexible, or even to book time off that he
is legally allowed (that is a whole other saga!). He did recently have a pay
rise, however. Our cashflow is not brilliant, but if I am to look at the bigger
picture, I need some help with childcare. To that end, I plan to investigate
the costs of childcare, and see what I can fit around preschool and school. Then
perhaps I can find time to finish the manuscripts I have languishing on my hard
drive, and finally get my career established professionally.

How do you
fit writing in around family and work?

Did you enjoy
this article?Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get
you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will
bite!)

Monday, 2 January 2017

You won’t be
surprised to hear that I received some fabulous book related Christmas gifts
recently. I am still reading one of the books I received, On Writing by Stephen King. It was
a surprise present from my husband, and he earned some major ‘good husband’
points for this one! I am just over half way through the book, and it is
brilliant. I feel inspired, invigorated, and enthused to get back into my novel
writing as soon as the children return to school.

I also received
a couple of quirky, fun Christmas
presents from friends. They bought me a coffee mug with a funny quote
printed on it, “Please do not annoy the writer, she might put you in a book and
kill you!” They also got me a cute little bookmark that has a waving hand at
the end of it. When my youngest daughter saw it she burst into fits of giggles,
which was adorable. Did you receive any quirky, fun gifts?

Did you enjoy
this article?Join my tribe today, and I will send you a fabulous FREE book to get
you started… (be warned, my vampires do not sparkle, and my wolves will
bite!)